Could the City of Pickens contract its statutory victim services to the county behavioral health service?

Plain-English summary

The Attorney General found no provision authorizing the City of Pickens to contract its victim services to Pickens County Behavioral Health Services. The opinion said the Victim and Witness Service Program placed duties, including notice to victims after an accused person's arrest or detention, on law enforcement agencies. It therefore treated the duties identified in the request as law-enforcement responsibilities.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical summary

City law enforcement agencies

The AG pointed to the statute requiring notice to crime victims following an arrest or detention. It saw no statutory route for transferring the city's victim-service obligations through the proposed contract.

Behavioral health service providers

The opinion addressed whether this proposed contract was authorized. It did not analyze every possible form of assistance a provider could give to victims while the law enforcement agency retained its statutory duties.

Common questions

Did the AG approve the proposed contract?
No. It said it knew of no provision authorizing it.

Which entities did the opinion identify as responsible for the cited duties?
Law enforcement agencies.

Background and statutory framework

The request concerned South Carolina's Victim and Witness Service Program. The office quoted the program's legislative purpose and the victim-notice duty following arrest or detention.

Citations and references

The opinion cited S.C. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-1505 et seq. and 16-3-1525.

Official title

Asking whether the City of Pickens can contract its victim services with the Pickens County Behavioral Health Services for the provision of victim services is authorized.

Requester

The Honorable Ted Shehan, Mayor, City of Pickens

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/august-26-2003-1/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/03aug-26-Shehan.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
HENRY MCMASTER
ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 26, 2003

The Honorable Ted Shehan
Mayor, City of Pickens
P. 0. Box 217
Pickens, South Carolina 29671
Dear Mayor Shehan:
In a letter to this office you indicated that the City of Pickens would like to contract its victim services with the Pickens County Behavioral Health Services for the provision of victim services. You asked whether such contract is authorized.

This State's Victim and Witness Service Program is established pursuant to the provisions of S.C. Code Ann. Sections 16-3-1505 et seq. (2003). Responsibilities for law enforcement agencies as to victims are clearly established. For instance, Section 16-3-1525 requires law enforcement agencies to notify victims upon the arrest or detention of a person accused of committing an offense involving one or more victims. Such duties are consistent with the intent of the legislature as expressed in Section 16-3-1505 in enacting the provisions to ensure that " ... the rights and services extended in this article to victims of and witnesses to a crime are honored and protected by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges in a manner no less vigorous than the protections afforded criminal defendants." While numerous duties are imposed on law enforcement agencies in protecting victims' rights, I am unaware of any provision that would allow the City of Pickens to contract its victim services with the Pickens County Behavioral Health Services. Instead, such duties outlined in the referenced provisions are clearly law enforcement responsibilities.

If there are any questions, please advise.
Sincerely,

ct.~u~
Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General

REMBERT C. DENNIS BUILDING
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